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The impact of rising population-wide obesity on cardiovascular risk factors has not been well studied in low-income countries. To correlate the prevalence of obesity with risk factors we performed epidemiological studies in India.Multiple cross-sectional epidemiological studies, Jaipur Heart Watch (JHW), were performed in India in rural and urban locations. From these cohorts, subjects aged 20-59 years (men 4102, women 2872) were included. Prevalence of various risk factors: smoking/tobacco use, overweight/obesity (body mass indexor = 25 kg/m2) truncal obesity (waist:hipor = 0.95 men,or = 0.85 women), hypertension, dyslipidemias, metabolic syndrome and diabetes was determined. Trends were examined using least squares regression.Smoking/tobacco use was more in rural men (50.0% vs 40.6%) and urban women (8.9% vs 4.5%, p0.01). Obesity, truncal obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome were more in urban cohorts (p0.001). Age-adjusted prevalence (%) of obesity in various cohorts, rural JHW, and urban JHW-1, JHW-2, JHW-3, and JHW-4 respectively, in men was 9.4, 21.1, 35.6, 54.0, and 50.9 (r2 = 0.92, p = 0.009) and in women 8.9, 15.7, 45.1, 61.5, and 57.7 (r2 = 0.88, p = 0.018). Prevalence of truncal obesity in men was 3.2, 19.6, 39.6, 41.4, and 31.1 (r2 = 0.60, p = 0.124) and in women 10.1, 49.5, 42.1, 51.7, and 50.5 (r2 = 0.56, p = 0.1467). In successive cohorts increasing trends were observed in the prevalence of hypertension (r2 = 0.93, p = 0.008) and metabolic syndrome (r2 = 0.99, p = 0.005) with weaker trends for hypercholesterolemia (r2 = 0.41, p = 0.241) and diabetes (r2 = 0.79, p = 0.299) in men. In women, significant trends were observed for hypertension (r2 = 0.98, p = 0.001) and weaker trends for others. Increase in generalized obesity correlated significantly with hypertension (two-line regression r2, men 0.91, women 0.88), hypercholesterolemia (0.53, 0.44), metabolic syndrome (0.87, 0.94) and diabetes (0.84, 0.93). Truncal obesity correlated less strongly with the risk factors like hypertension (0.50, 0.57), hypercholesterolemia (0.88, 0.61), metabolic syndrome (0.76, 0.33), and diabetes (0.75, 0.33).In Asian Indian subjects, escalating population-wide generalized obesity correlates strongly with increasing cardiovascular risk factors.

Studies among emigrant Indian populations have shown a high prevalence of obesity and many coronary risk factors in Bhatia community. To determine the prevalence of risk factors in this community within India we performed an epidemiological study.An ethnic-group sample survey to determine prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors was performed using community registers for enrollment. Methodology used was similar to Jaipur Heart Watch studies performed in 1995 and 2002. We invited 600 randomly selected subjects listed in Punjabi Bhatia community registers and could examine 458 (76.7%) persons (men 226, women 232). Evaluation for coronary risk factors, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, fasting blood glucose and serum lipids was performed using standard definitions. Mean age was 43.2 +/- 14.6 years in men and 44.7 +/- 15.3 years in women. In both men and women there was a high prevalence of family history of coronary heart disease in 45 (19.9%) and 50 (21.6%), family history of diabetes in 96 (42.5%) and 77 (33.2%), sedentary habits in 82 (36.3%) and 73 (31.5%), smoking or tobacco use in 59 (26.1%) and 4 (1.7%), overweight or obesity (body mass indexor = 25 kg/m2) in 123 (54.0%) and 161 (69.4%), severe obesity (body mass index30 kg/m2) in 47 (20.8%) and 75 (32.3%), truncal obesity (waist-hip ratio: men0.9, women0.8) in 175 (77.4%) and 186 (80.2%), increased waist (waist size: men102 cm, women88 cm) in 78 (34.5%) and 129 (55.6%), hypertension (blood pressureor = 140/90 mmHg) in 116 (51.3%) and 120 (51.3%), diabetes in 40 (17.7%) and 33 (14.2%), hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterolor = 200 mg/dl) in 75 (33.2%) and 67 (28.9%), high triglycerides in 55 (24.3%) and 34 (14.7%), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in 169 (74.8%) and 155 (66.8%), and the metabolic syndrome (defined by American National Cholesterol Education Program) in 84 (36.2%) and 111 (47.8%) respectively. Body mass index correlated significantly with (age-adjusted r2 value--men, women) waist diameter (0.52, 0.12), waist-hip ratio (0.21, 0.10), truncal obesity (0.54, 0.60), systolic blood pressure (0.19, 0.16), diastolic blood pressure (0.12, 0.16), hypertension (0.19, 0.31), and metabolic syndrome (0.28, 0.44) (p0.05). There was a significant linear relationship of body mass index with the prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes (women), and the metabolic syndrome (chi2 for trend p0.05). Prevalence of these risk factors was the lowest in subjects with body mass index20 kg/m2. A multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that obesity was independently associated with multiple risk factors characterized by metabolic syndrome after adjustment for age, hypertension, and diabetes in both men (odds ratio 2.45, 95% confidence intervals 1.69, 3.57) as well as in women (odds ratio 2.93, 95% confidence intervals 1.86, 4.61) (p0.01).There is a high prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, hypertension, diabetes, lipid abnormalities and the metabolic syndrome in this community that is significantly greater than reported studies in Jaipur and urban populations elsewhere in India. Obesity correlates strongly with multiple coronary risk factors of which it is an important determinant.

Differences in coronary risk factors and coronary heart disease (CHD) prevalence between the Hindus and the Muslims have not been adequately studied. This study aims to determine the prevalence of certain socio-economic and biological coronary risk factors in urban communities and to compare the findings found in the Hindus and the Muslims. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design and stratified random sampling technique consisting of 1,415 males and 797 females. Among males there were 1,092 Hindus (77.2%) and 272 Muslims (19.2%) while in females there were 685 Hindus (85.9%) and 91 Muslims (11.4%). Prevalence of illiteracy and sedentary lifestyle were significantly more in Muslims (p0.05). Smoking or tobacco use in males was similar but in females it was more in the Hindus. Self-reported diabetes was found in 1.4% Hindu males and in 1.2% Hindu females. No Muslim reported diabetes. Hindu males were significantly taller than Muslims (163.9 +/- 8.3 versus 160.9 +/- 8.9 cm; p0.001). In both males and females there was no significant difference in body mass index and obesity. In Hindu males the diastolic BP was significantly greater than in Muslims (81.2 +/- 9.2 versus 79.0 +/- 8.6 mm Hg; p0.001); prevalence of hypertension (30.5% versus 25.7%) was also significantly more (p = 0.048). In Hindu females the mean systolic BP was significantly more and there was also difference in hypertension prevalence (35.2% versus 25.3%). CHD prevalence was significantly greater in Hindu males as compared to the Muslims when determined by the presence of either ECG changes alone (4.3% versus 0.7%; p = 0.008) or ECG changes combined with clinical history (7.1% versus 1.8%; p = 0.002). A similar, though not significant, trend was seen in females (ECG changes: 8.9% versus 6.6%, clinical and ECG changes: 10.4% versus 6.6%). The prevalence of CHD is significantly more in Hindu males as compared to the Muslims and is associated with a greater prevalence of diabetes and hypertension.

The prevalence of risk factors for coronary heart disease has been inadequately studied in India. A repeat cross-sectional survey was carried out to evaluate the changes in the major coronary risk factors in the urban population of Jaipur previously studied in the early 1990s.Randomly selected adultsor =20 years of age were studied using stratified sampling. The target study sample was 1800 with a population proportionate gender distribution (males 960, females 840). Coronary risk factors, anthropometric variables, blood pressure, ECG, fasting blood glucose and lipids were evaluated. A total of 1123 subjects (62.4%) (males 550, females 573) were examined. Fasting blood samples were available in 523 males and 559 females. Overall coronary heart diesase prevalence, diagnosed by history or ECG changes, was found in 34 males (6.18%) and 58 females (10.12%). Risk factor prevalence showed that smoking/tobacco use was present in 201 males (36.5%) and 67 females (11.7%). Physical inactivity, either work-related or leisure time, was seen in 157 males (28.5%) and 130 females (22.7%). Hypertension (or =140 and/or 90 mmHg) was present in 200 males (36.4%) and 215 females (37.5%). Diabetes diagnosed by history or fasting glucoseor =126 mg/dl was found in 72 males (13.1%) and 65 females (11.3%). Obesity, body mass indexor =27 kg/m2 was present in 135 males (24.5%) and 173 females (30.2%), while truncal obesity (waist:hip0.9 males,0.8 females) was found in 316 males (57.4%) and 392 females (68.4%). The most common dyslipidemia in both males and females was low HDL-cholesterol (40 mg/dl: males 54.9%, females 54.2%). High total cholesterol levels ofor =200 mg/dl (males 37.4%, females 4.1%), high LDL-cholesterol levels ofor =130 mg/dl (males 37.0%, females 45.8%) and high levels of triglyceridesor = 150 mg/dl (males 32.3%, females 28.6%) were also seen in a significant number. Hypertension, obesity, truncal obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemias increased significantly with age in both males and females (Mantel-Haenzel chi2 for trend, p0.05).There is a high prevalence of standard coronary risk factors--smoking, physical inactivity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and obesity--as well as factors peculiar to south Asians--truncal obesity, low HDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides--in this urban Indian population. As compared to a previous study in the early 1900s in a similar population, there is a significant increase in the number of people with obesity, diabetes and dyslipidemias.